Reversed Roles
by AnnCarter
Summary: What would have happened had the roles been reversed? Had Alex been the one in coma, and Charlie the one alive? Set in season 2, after 2X04, "Defence".
1. Prologue

_All rights for Saving Hope are CTV's. _

* * *

**Prologue:**

"It'll take some time for you to recover completely, and you're going to need to take these medications, but you're going to be just fine," Charlie promised her, smiling.

His patient, a twenty year old woman with compound elevated skull fracture, sighed in relief. "Thank you, Doctor Harris," She said, smiling back. "Thank you so much."

He smiled again for a brief moment. "I'll be back here tomorrow to make sure you're alright," was all he said before leaving. He closed the door behind him and then turned towards the cafeteria, where he was supposed to meet Alex.

Walking into the elevator, Charlie immediately noticed Joel inside. He was wearing his scrubs and holding a cup of coffee. The moment Charlie walked inside he turned towards him, and before Charlie could say or ask anything, he spoke.

"I've got an operation for you," He said.

"Yeah? What?" Charlie asked nonchalantly, turning to look at Joel.

"Forty-two-year-old with multiple fractures in her arms and legs. They're pressing major blood vessels," He added, "including the femoral and the brachial. Also, she might be suffering spinal trauma. She needs that surgery now." There was no need to mention the 'or'. They both knew her muscles would start dying soon with no blood brought to them.

"Okay." Charlie grabbed his cellphone, quickly texting Alex that he will meet her later that day.

"Operation room three. They're already taking her there," He added. "Maggie's going to assist on that surgery."

"Alright." The elevator stopped and the doors opened. Joel left, leaving Charlie alone. The surgeon quickly pressed the right button and then hurried to call his fiancée. "Hi," He said as she answered the phone. "Did you get my text?"

"Yeah. What happened?" He could hear people's voices coming from the background. He guessed she was already waiting for him at the cafeteria, getting coffee for them both.

"Joel's got a case. A woman who just came in with fractures in her arms and legs, and possibly with spinal trauma," He replied quietly. The elevator stopped and the doors opened, and he hurried to the operation room. "It'll take a while."

"Do you need me to assist?"

"I'd love that, but I already have an assistant. I'll be back home as soon as I can," He added, knowing her shift would end before his surgery would.

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you too."

He hung up and then hurried to scrub. He quickly cleaned his arms and hands, changed clothes and then walked into the operation room, noticing the entire staff and the patient were already present. He nodded briefly, satisfied. He loved it when everything worked according to his plan.

"Alright, this is how we're gonna do this."

* * *

As Charlie walked out of the operation room a few hours later, his pager beeped. He sighed, wishing he could go home to Alex, washed his hands and picked it up, ready for another case. He wasn't surprised when he got paged to another operation room.

"What's going on?" He asked as he walked in after rescrubbing.

"Jane Doe." One of the nurses informed him. "A woman in her thirties. She came in after a car crash. Got severe injuries all over her body, including the head and the back. She was unconscious when the medics found her." She paused. "You'll be operating along with Doctor Hamza and Doctor Reycraft."

"No identification?" He asked, coming near the woman on the operating table. Something about her looked familiar to him, but he couldn't tell what it was.

"No. They didn't manage to find a driving license, a credit card or an ID. The firemen reported that almost everything that was in the car was completely burned. They barely managed to get her out."

"Alright, we're here," Shahir said as he walked into the operation room. "What's going on?"

Charlie hurried to fill them in. They talked quietly for a few minutes, working on a plan that would fit all the needs of the patient, and then each turned to start operating- Shahir by the head, Charlie by her pelvis, and Reycraft by her stomach. Charlie was about to make his first cut when he stopped, shocked, and stared at a spot in front of him.

"Charlie?" Shahir asked, turning towards him. "Charlie!"

"What?" He muttered, not taking his eyes off that spot.

"Is everything okay?"

"It's Alex," He muttered in response, unfocused.

"What?" Both other doctors exchanged a glance. None of this made sense to them.

To Charlie, however, it did make sense. As he stared into his fiancée's eyes, looking at the confusion and fear that was written all over her face, he quietly said, "It's not a Jane Doe. It's Alex."


	2. The Truth,The Whole Truth&Just The Truth

**Chapter 1:**

"What makes you think it's Alex?" Shahir was as careful as he could be. While one of the nurses paged both Gavin and Joel, he tried his best to help his friend.

"Because it's Alex," Charlie's eyes did not leave his fiancée's. He tried to calm her down only by looking at her, but he could easily tell it does not work. He couldn't talk to her, not while all the surgeons and nurses were in the room, but he wanted to do that so desperately that he nearly forgot that if he does that he would lose his job. His job, his life and what's left of his sanity. "Can't you see? Look at her!"

"We can't see her face clearly," Shamir's tone was calming. "I'm sure it's not Alex. She probably just looks like her."

"Look at her!" Charlie's voice was going louder and louder.

"Charlie?" She asked quietly, scared.

Charlie ignored her. He couldn't acknowledge her quite yet. "It's her clothes, it's her figure. It's… it's her." Shahir still seemed doubtful, even though he was trying to hide it. "Call her if you don't believe me." Shahir hesitated. "Call her!"

"Charlie? Is everything okay?" Gavin's voice was quiet.

"Fine." Charlie turned around, towards Joel. "I trust you to operate on her," He told Joel, who had just entered the room. "If you mess something up…"

"I won't," The surgeon promised quietly. He didn't seem to believe it was Alex either, but he treated it seriously, as did the psychiatrist.

"Good." With this word Charlie left the operating room, hoping Alex would come after him. He quickly washed his hands and changed his clothes, and then turned towards one of the private rooms in the hospital. Hearing Gavin following him, he hurried to shake him off. He walked silently, not even once turning around to check if his fiancée was following him. It was too hard to look at her and know that the one person he loved more than anybody in the whole world was now in coma and might die on the operating table.

He walked into the room and then sat down on the bed. He could sense her coming, moving towards him. She knew he saw her in that moment and he knew she would not stop until her questions would be answered. He was the only one she could turn to, and they both knew she would.

"Charlie?"

"Alex." The name came out as a hoarse whisper. "What happened?"

"I was driving home. I needed gas so I stopped the refuel. I… There was an accident by the road. I stopped to help. That's all I can remember." She stood in front of him and he had no choice but look into the eyes he loved so much. "Charlie, what's going on? What am I doing here? Why did you say this woman was me? Why could nobody else see me?"

"Because it is," He said quietly. "The woman on the operating table is you. The firemen said another car crashed into yours, apparently while you were inside. They managed to get you out right before the fire burned through the whole car and the two others that were involved. They brought you here. Joel, Shahir and Reycraft are operating on you right now."

"How is it that I can walk around? How is it that you can hear me?"

"You must have slipped into a coma," He replied quietly. "People in coma can walk around here."

"Like you remember you did?" He nodded. "But then no one could see you. How come you can see me and talk to me?" He did not reply. "Charlie."

Understanding she would not leave it, he sighed quietly before looking into her eyes again. "Ever since the accident… I have the ability to see people. Dead people. Or people in coma. I can talk to them. I've been seeing them since the day I woke up from that coma. Ever since we got back to Hope Zion I've been talking to them. Interacting with them."

"What?" She sounded shocked, but she also sounded hurt.

"I'm sorry… I didn't tell you." He said, still in the same quiet voice. He looked away, unable to look into her eyes while revealing his biggest secret. "But I couldn't. I needed to understand it before I can tell you about it. I needed to be sure I wasn't losing my mind after the coma. I needed to be certain of what it is." He paused. "After Randall… I had a feeling you might not believe me if I wouldn't show it to you. I needed to be sure that you wouldn't think I'm insane."

Alex remained silent. He hesitated before looking up, only to find out the room was empty. She was gone.

* * *

Charlie couldn't help but start hoping his fiancée was getting better as he hurried towards the operating room. He was not surprised to find out the three were still operating, working hard to try to save Alex's life. Joel was giving instructions as they went on with it, trying to make sure everything will be done with maximum efficiency. He knew he shouldn't be worried – Alex was in good hands – but he still was.

"I tried to call Alex," Gavin's voice sounded next to him. He turned around from the window of the operating room to the psychiatrist, who was standing next to him, holding a folder. "She didn't pick up the phone. While she was here we tested her blood. She's got the same blood type as Alex."

"I told you." Charlie turned back to the window.

"It doesn't mean it's Alex lying there."

"It does. It does because it's Alex. That woman is Alex Reid, no matter how hard you try to pretend she isn't." He paused. "Have you compared her DNA to Alex's?"

Charlie could see the psychiatrist shaking his head. His face reflected on the glass window, letting Charlie look at him even without actually turning to him. He was looking at Charlie, clearly worried and attempting to calm him.

"You should."

"We will." Gavin paused, looking at him quietly for a moment. "What makes you think it's Alex?"

Charlie's voice was stern. "I'm not answering that question again."

"Okay." Gavin's voice was calming. "What are you feeling right now?" Charlie turned towards him, again annoyed. "I know you think you don't need it and you're fine, but if this is really Alex in there, you could use some help."

Charlie opened his mouth to say he did not need any kind of help other than the medical one – someone else to be operating on his fiancée – when he realized how problematic this situation really was for him. On the one hand, it was like reliving last year, reliving the feeling of being away from Alex and being completely powerless. On the other, unlike the last time, he did have a way to communicate with her, a way that sometimes made him feel insane and which he still wasn't sure was completely normal. Overall, he felt like he was losing his mind.

"It feels like we're reliving last year," He said eventually, looking through the window again. He stared ahead, not seeing anything but the horror inside his mind. "Only I'm out here and she's in there."

"Nothing is certain yet, Charlie," Gavin said quietly. "She may be completely fine after the surgery."

"Maybe."

Gavin remained standing next to him, clearly unsure whether or not to speak. Charlie watched silently as they operated on Alex, only wishing she would be fine and won't remember a thing once she wakes up.


	3. She Deserves Picket Fences and Fairytale

**Chapter 2- "She Deserves Picket Fences and Fairytales":**

Charlie did not know for how long he had waited near the operation room. Twice during the surgery Gavin brought him coffee and attempted to talk to him, but Charlie did not cooperate. All he could think about was Alex, his colleague, his fiancée, and above all, the woman he loved more than anyone else in the world. He found himself wondering if she would wake up right after the surgery, and if she'd remember what he told her about himself. He was scared of that but at the same time he was relieved to have finally told her the truth.

After the operation was finally over and they rolled Alex to the ICU, both Joel and Shahir came to talk to him. He was sitting by the room and watched as they rolled the bed towards the elevators. Only once she was gone he turned towards the doctors.

"It's Alex." His voice was hoarse and quiet.

"We know." Joel's voice was quiet as well. "The DNA test confirmed it's her. We also managed to clear her face enough to see that it's Alex. How did you know?"

"It doesn't matter," Charlie replied shortly. His tone indicated just how much he did not want to talk about it in that moment. Joel let go, remaining silent as Charlie asked his question. "How is she?"

"There's swelling in her brain," Shahir replied, "But that will be taken care of with the medications I'm going to give her. Her spinal cord is intact. There was some head trauma, but she will be fine."

Charlie nodded briefly in understanding and turned to look at Joel. "Multiple fractures all over her body, but nothing major. It will take her some time to recover from some of them, but she will be alright. There were two fractures that could have been dangerous, one near the tailbone, and one near the femoral, but they are both fixed."

"What else?"

"She had an internal bleeding in her abdomen. The stomach and the spleen were both in bad shape. There was a leak from the Aorta. She also had a pneumothorax." Joel stopped, looking at Charlie quietly.

"That's all?" The sarcasm in the surgeon's voice was clear.

"We believe it is." Joel's voice was serious regardless of that.

"How is she?"

"In a better state than she was when the medics brought her in," Joel replied. "She'll be okay," He hurried to add, "But it will probably take her time to recover from everything."

"Is she still-?"

"Yes. She probably will be until the swelling in her brain will disappear," Shahir added. "Don't worry, Charlie," He added after a moment of silence in his most reassuring voice, "We'll take good care of her. Alex will be fine."

"I know." He said quietly before getting up. He threw the cup he was holding into the garbage can near the room and then left, heading towards the room where they put Alex. He hoped she would go there in order to talk to him, but he couldn't be certain she would. He was afraid that she wouldn't want to see him until she'd wrap her mind around the idea of him seeing spirits, but he decided to attempt to find her anyway, even if she'd refuse to talk to him.

As he walked into the room he found himself experiencing his second déjà vu. Alex was seated by the bed, looking at her body the way he stared at his when he first realized he was in a coma, and didn't turn towards him, even though she must have heard him. For a moment he felt like he was the one in coma and once again she could not see him. He found himself wondering if he should have a conversation with Gavin after all.

"Alex?" He asked quietly. She didn't turn towards him. "How are you feeling?"

She did not reply. He could tell she was thinking about something, and guessed she was thinking about him and the coma. She must have sensed the similarities as well. But above all, he knew she was thinking about the secret he revealed to her a few hours earlier, when she asked him the one question he did not want to answer.

"I should have told you about it," He said quietly. He had a feeling she wanted to be left alone, but he couldn't leave her on her own, not like that. He needed to know how she felt and if she was alright. He needed to know what she thought about his new ability to see spirits. "I should have. But you didn't deserve it."

"I didn't _deserve_ it?" She finally spoke, still not turning to look at him.

"I wasn't sure I was sane. I thought I may have lost my mind. This… ability…" He nearly said 'curse', but decided to stop himself, "It's something complicated. It can be a curse sometimes. And you didn't deserve it. You deserve a life in which we are both alright. A life in which we're perfectly normal, with no curses and no weird abilities. It was bad enough that you had to go through the coma story. I didn't want to force you to go through another thing."

He still couldn't see his face, but when she spoke he heard her tone was softer, more accepting and less angry. "Is that what Randall wanted to talk to you about?"

"Yes." He paused before coming closer to her and sitting behind her. He knew at some point she would turn to him and hoped it would be soon. "It ruined his life, Alex. You saw that yourself. The moment he revealed it, his life was ruined. He had no relationship with his daughter. Everyone thought he lost his mind."

"He told me he drank in order to make the voices disappear."

"I couldn't let that happen to me, but even more than that, I couldn't let it happen to you. You didn't deserve to live in that shadow." Charlie's voice was quiet and soft. "I love you," He added quietly. "All I want is the best for you. If I told you that-"

"I would have known the truth!"

"You'd have found yourself wondering whether or not I'm insane. You'd have wanted me to go through every test you could find. You'd have wanted me to talk to Gavin. You'd have felt how this coma continues to ruin your life – _our_ life – even after it is over. I know you, Alex," He added quietly when she didn't reply. "You'd have stayed, but the life you always wanted would have easily been gone. I couldn't let that happen."

"I deserved to know that. I'm your fiancée, Charlie. I deserve to know what's happening in your life."

"I wanted to tell you. I did. But I couldn't. I couldn't do this to you." He paused. "You deserve a fairytale, Alex," He said, using the words Randall said to him a few weeks earlier. "You deserve the perfect life. That's all I ever wanted to give you. And with that thing… I couldn't. I can't give you the life you always wanted. I can't give you the life I always wanted to give you. I couldn't stand by and watch it all being destroyed by one damn coma effect."

She turned to him slowly, her green eyes looking into his pure blue ones. "Charlie-" She started just as Joel walked into the room, cutting them off.

Charlie turned around, looking at the other surgeon. Joel was holding flowers, apparently Alex's favorites. Charlie wanted to tell him to leave, but knew he couldn't. Alex was looking at Joel, waiting to hear his words, and he couldn't not to let her hear him, even though he didn't like it. It didn't mean he couldn't keep it short, though, which he intended to do. From the moment Joel came into Hope Zion, he kept attempting to bring Alex back into his arms, and Charlie just didn't trust him not to try to use that situation to his own advantage.

"I just came to bring these," Joel said eventually, holding out the flowers. Charlie took them and turned around to put them near her bed. "Man… I'm sorry about all that. How are you?"

"I'm fine." Charlie replied shortly. "It's Alex that matters."

"Yeah." Joel paused, glancing at Alex's body lying on the bed. "We're gonna keep an eye on her. We'll give her the best treatment there is. You have my word."

Charlie nodded briefly, silently thanking him. "Thanks, Joel." Despite the somewhat-tensed relationship he and Joel had, Charlie couldn't not to thank him for the support he was suggesting to give.

Joel nodded briefly and turned to leave, noticing Charlie wanted to be alone with his fiancée. He stopped before going through the door, turning back to Charlie. "Hey, man… if there's anything you or Alex need…"

"Thanks, man." Joel turned to leave again. "I know Alex would have thanked you as well," He added, even without looking at his fiancée.

Once Joel was gone, Charlie turned back to Alex. She was still seating by her body, only now she was looking at him intently. He looked at her quietly, waiting for her to speak.

Eventually she got up and made the few steps separating them. She stood in front of him, wearing a jeans and the white tight shirt he always loved. She looked at him quietly for a moment before pressing her lips to his. He couldn't feel it, but he knew she did it, and that was good enough for their situation.

"I need to think," She said quietly then, her hand still on his cheek. "I'll come back. But I need to think."

Charlie nodded, accepting it. "I'll be waiting."

She looked at him for another moment before leaving the room. He looked after her until she was gone and then sat down by her side and kissed her forehead, the only part of her face which wasn't covered by the hospital's machines.


End file.
